Wood marking tags

ABSTRACT

A wood-marking tag for wood identification purposes printed with or without markings thereon or punched therein, made of soft material, permitting its cutting without damage to the cutter means. The hardness of the tags is less than that of conventional saws made from steel alloys, to a degree avoiding dulling of the saw and optionally also permitting the punching of markings into said discs by means such as pliers and punchers. The material is preferably a glass-fiber reinforced plastic; preferably suitable for injection-molding. Optimum results are accomplished with plastics selected from the group consisting of 6-polyamide and ABS acylic nitrile-butadien-styrene-copolymers. The tag material in one embodiment is magnetically non-permeable, in another it includes metallic particles to make the tag magnetically permeable. The tag is equipped with projections applying it to the lumber such as for driving it into the lumber and/or for retaining the tag applied to the lumber thereon. In one embodiment, the retaining projections comprise retaining clips, optionally with claws. In various embodiments, the tag is provided with indentations in its outer edge, with apertures near its outer rim, with barbs at its outer edge; with tubular projections at at least one side thereof; optionally with barbs on the tubular projection and/or with corrugated projections, optionally provided with barbs. In other embodiments, the tag is separable into two parts having identical markings, by a weakened line of cohesion, or by a perforated line, optionally asymmetrically with one of the parts having the shape of a segment.

United States Patent [151 3,673,717 Latschbacher July 4, 1972 54 WOODMARKING TAGS FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS l I 999,376 10/1951 France..40/22 [72] inventor: Kajetan Latschbacher, A 4484 Kronstorf 120,Austria Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell Assistant Examiner-J. H.Wolff [22] Wed: 1970 Att0rneyOtto John Munz 211 Appl. No.: 96,573

[57] ABSTRACT Related Apphcauon Data A wood-marking tag for woodidentification purposes printed [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.722,609, April 19, with or without markings thereon or punched therein,made of 1968, abandoned. soft material, permitting its cutting withoutdamage to the cutter means. The hardness of the tags is less than thatof con- [30] Foreign Application Priority Data ventional saws made fromsteel alloys, to a degree avoiding dullin of the saw and 0 tionall alsoermittin the unchin Apr l 20, 1967 Austr a ..3758 of magrkings into Saidpdiscs mesns Such pfiers Apr l 20, 1967 Austr a punchers. The materialis preferably a glass-fiber reinforced April 20, 1967 Austr a"...plastic; preferably suitable for injection-molding. Optimum NOV. 30,Austria results are accomplished with Plastics Selected from the g pconsisting of o-polyamide and ABS acylic nitrile-butadien- [52] U.S.Cl..40/2, 40/22 styrenwcopolymers' The tag material i one embodiment is[51] Int. Cl. ..G09f3/l2 magnetically nompermeable' in another itincludes metallic [58] Field of Search ..40/2, 22; 85/DlG. 2, 13;particles to make the tag magnetically permeable. The tag is 287/2092 Lequipped with projections applying it to the lumber such as for drivingit into the lumber and/or for retaining the tag applied [56] ReferencesCited to the lumber thereon.

UNITED STATES PATENTS In one embodiment, the retaining projectionscomprise retainin cli s, o tionall with claws. In various embodiments,the 1,593,522 7/1926 Woods ..40/22 X g is g g K indentations i i ut redge, with aper- BI'OOkS tures near its outer with barbs at its outer gwith tubu Sutin 2 projections at at least one Side thereof; optionallywith 3240'869 3/1966 Jute" "85/13 barbs on the tubular projection and/orwith corrugated projec- 512,468 [/1894 Grundy 40/2 E tions, optionallyprovided with barbs. In other embodiments, 178908 6/1876 Clark "40/22the tag is separable into two parts having identical markings, 2,724,30311/1955 Holcomb ..85/DIG. 2 by a weakened line of cohesion, or by 3performed line, 109,430 4/1964 Latschbacher '227/113 tionallyasymmetrically with one of the parts having the shape 2,666,201 l/1954Van Orden 227/147 f segmem 2,936,454 5/1960 Lundeberg ..227/18 3,342,2239/1967 Reid ..227/ 147 3,589,584 6/1971 Ohlsson et al ..22 7/ 10 10Claims, 17 Drawing Figures P'A'TENTEDJUL "4 1912 3; 673 7 l 7 ig Fig MINVENTOR KAJETAN LATSCHBACHER 77 76 BY k7 x A ORNEY WOOD MARKING TAGSCROSS REFERENCES TO RELATES APPLICATIONS This application is acontinuation-in-part application of the previously copending US.application Ser. No. 722,609, filed Apr. l9, 1968 and now abandoned.Priority of filing date is claimed on common subject matter of Austrianpatent application A 3760/ 67 filed on Apr. 20, 1967, and A 10809/67filed on Nov. 30, 1967.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The field of theart is defined in U. S. class definition of class 40, subclass 2, to beincorporated herein by reference.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the marking of timber, small tags orplates having bent edges or rims are affixed to the face end of a trunkby means of a hammer. The tendency is toward using larger, more visibleplates.

Plates made of metal such as hot galvanized sheet iron, must be removedbefore the wood can be processed because they would damage the sawingand milling tools. They also rust and the rust defaces the markings. Theremoval of the plates takes so much time that this practice is no longeracceptable, particularly in fully automatic sawmills.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The subject matter of the present inventionrelates to plates which are made from a soft material, such as plastic,and which may therefore remain on the timber during processing.Optionally, powdered magnetically permeable material is either admixedwith the plastic mixture to form the tag or sprayed thereon in an amountonly sufficient to make the plate attracted by a magnetic hammer withouthowever damaging the saw.

To retain magnetically non-permeable plates on the hammer before theplates are driven, such plates may be provided on their top face withretaining clips or claws, which are preferably struck out from the platematerial. Barbs for preventing a separation from the wood may beprovided on the inside of the plate.

Another feature of the invention is to provide the plate on itsunderside with small projecting tubes, which optionally may be providedwith barbs. Notches may be provided in the edge of the plate on bothsides of the tubes.

The plates may also have apertures which form passages for claws whichare provided on a stacking magazine and which serve to retain andrelease the plate.

The plates may have corrugated extensions, which are preferably providedwith barbs.

According to another feature of the invention, the flanged plates aresub-divided into two portions by a line of weakening so that apreferably segment-shaped part of the plate can be severed for a check,the severable part being provided with the same number or other markingas the part remaining on the wood. Markings such as of consecutivenumbers and of the origin of the wood may be impressed or otherwiseprovided on the plates. There may be some difficulty as regards thegrading characteristics of the tree trunk which are not ascertaineduntil shortly before the driving of the plate but are to be indicated onthe tree trunk. For this purpose, it was previously required to providethe tree trunks with grade markings of chalk or paint or to drive colorplates into the tree trunk. To eliminate the need for a separate workerperforming this operation, the invention provides also a process whichenables an indication of the grading characteristics on the respectiveplate immediately before it is driven. According to the invention, thisis accomplished by punching these characteristics into the flanged discor plate, such as in the form of a circular, triangular or other shapeaperture, with the aid of punch pliers. Combinations of these aperturesmay be used to in dicate various characteristics.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention are shownby way of example on the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a plate in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. la is an enlarged view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of FIGS. 1 and 3;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view similar to that of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 5 is another sectional viewv similar to that of FIGS. 1 and 3;

FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment in a sectional view taken alongdifferent lines on the left and right of FIG. 7;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of FIG. 6;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are sectional views taken on lines A and B; respectively,in FIG. 7;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are respectively a longitudinal sectional view and abottom view showing a fifth embodiment;

FIGS. 13 and 14, and FIGS. 15 and 16 show additional embodiments ofplates in top, plan view and sectional view, respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the embodiments shown inFIGS. 1 to 10 the plate 51 which is preferably made of plastic materialis in each case provided with two holes 52 and a flange 53, which has arecess 54, except in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. The embodimentsshown in FIGS. 1 to 3 have two mutually opposed claws 55. Two pairs ofsuch claws are provided in the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5. These pairsof claws serve to secure plates of magnetically non-permeable materialto a hammer which is used to drive the plates into the wood. The clawsfit into corresponding apertures in the face of the hammer. In theembodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the flange 53 is provided with barbs56 which prevent removal of the plate from the wood.

The plate 57 shown in FIGS. 6 to 10 is provided with four small tubularextensions 58, which have barbs 56 on their outside surfaces. Each tubeis adjoined by a notch 59. A claw 60 is provided at each side of theplate.

The plate 75 shown in FIGS. 1 1 and 12 is provided on its underside withcorrugated extensions 76, which have hookshaped spikes 77 and holes 78by which they can be retained on a U-shaped tag stacking magazine.

If the plates are to be attracted by a hammer which has a magnetizedhead or is provided with a magnet in its face, metallic dust may besprayed onto the surface of the plate. Such magnetically permeableplatesdo not constitute an obstacle to the saw which cuts the wood, andthe claws 55 or 60 may then be omitted. Magnetically permeable metallicdust may alternatively be'admixed to the liquid plastic material beforeinjection molding.

Plates shown in FIG. 13 and 14 are provided on their underside withextensions 96, which have barbs 97. These plates have holes 98 and atransverse line of weakening 99.

Like the plate 95, the plate shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 has holes 108 andextensions 106, which are provided with barbs 107. The plate 105 differsin form from the plate 95 in that it has a flattened contour. The plate105 further includes grading marks 109 and 110, which are punched out ofthe plate by punch pliers immediately before the plate is driven intothe wood. The extensions 106 do not obstruct the application of theplier jaws.

The material from which the tags are made is selected preferably amongplastics to avoid damage to the cutters, which usually are sharp steelcircular or crosscut saws running at high speeds; the plastics arechosen for their hardness which is smaller than that of the cutters. Aninventive contribution in this respect is the discovery that -polyamideand ABS-acylic nitrile-butadien-styrene copolymers are ideally suitablefor the purpose. The use of plastic resins, particularly of theabovementioned type also aids application of the marking when applied tothe tags ,by punching in, presses or punching pliers, manually ormechanically, since these materials also have an excellent retention ofthe shapes imparted to them thereby, in any climate and weatherconditions and do not rust. Their removal prior to sawing is notnecessary. They may be injection-molded and magnetically permeablemetallic dust may be admixed to them in a uniform distribution withoutundesirable reactions to molding. They accept readily fiberglassreinforcement, which can be problems. These materials also acceptsurface printing. Marked tags may be made from advancingcontinuous-strips of these materials byconventional mechanical massproduction means. They can be printed by conventional printers and cutby conventional wood cutting machinery, without damage to the cutter.

In addition to the materials described above, the. following materialsare also usable, but have various inadequacies: acrylics, primarilymethyl-metacrylate; polystyrenes; polyvinyls; polyesters, phenolics,pressed celluloid; synthetic rubber and thin tags of softer metals,primarily of aluminum and of soft metal alloys. The prongsof the tagsmade from these materials also must have stiffness permitting theirpenetration and anchorage in the wood to be marked.

Instead of aluminum,,an aluminum chrome alloy for the purposes ofthisinvention has proved to have better characteristics of hardness.

The optimum proportions of 6-polyamide with fiberglass admixture wereestablished with 35 percent of fiberglass.

A combination sandwich of a metal foil with a plastic lamina lies alsowithin the scope of the invention.

I claim:

l. A wood-marking tag for permanent attachment to the end face of a logor the like by a magnetized tag-driving device, such as a magnetictagging hammer and capable of incorporated without production,

being cut by wood processing machinery without blunting the latter,comprising;

a tag body formed of a material which is softer than any ferrous alloy,such as a plastic material; said tag body including a generally flatplate for identifying information; means for permanently anchoring thetag in the log to be marked, the anchoring means being capable ofpenetrating a distance into the log under the action of said tagdrivingdevice;

a tag retaining means on the tag body for releasably retaining the tagon said tag-driving device;

said tag retaining means comprising magnetically permeable metallicdust, thereby rendering the tag magnetically attractable by saidmagnetized tag driving device.

2. A wood-marking tag as set forth in claim 1, wherein the tag anchoringmeans include anchoring protrusions in the form of wall portionsdepending substantially perpendicularly from the tag plate near theouter rim of the latter, the wall portions including barbs at theirouter edges.

3. A wood-marking tag as set forth in claim 1, wherein the tag anchoringmeans include tubular projections extending prependicularly from the tagplate.

4. A wood marking tag as set forth in claim 3, in which the tubularprojections are provided with barbs.

5. A wood-marking tag as set forth in claim 1, wherein the anchoringprotrusions are in the'form of corrugated projections.

6. A wood-marking tag as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plate of thetag body comprises two plate portions separated by a substantiallystraight line of weakening along which one portion can be broken awayfrom the tag body, the identifying information including identicalmarkings on both plate portions, the tag anchoring means includinganchoring protrusions on one of the two plate portions.

7. A wood'marking tag as set forth in claim 6, in which said line ofweakness is a perforation line.

8. A wood-marking tag as set forth in claim 1, wherein at leasta portionof the tag plate is thin enough to permit the piercing thereof by punchpliers, so that identifying informa-' tion can be applied to the tagplate in the form of punch marks which are punched into the tag plate bymeans of the punch pliers.

9. A wood-marking tag as claimed in claim 1, said material beingreinforced withfibers having a hardness greater than that of saidmaterial and less than that of cutting steel.

10. A wood-marking material as claimed in claim 1, said materialcomprising materials selected from the group consisting of 6-polyamideand ABS-acylic nitrile-butadien-styrenecopolymers.

1. A wood-marking tag for permanent attachment to the end face of a logor the like by a magnetized tag-driving device, such as a magnetictagging hammer and capable of being cut by wood processing machinerywithout blunting the latter, comprising; a tag body formed of a materialwhich is softer than any ferrous alloy, such as a plastic material; saidtag body including a generally flat plate for identifying information;means for permanently anchoring the tag in the log to be marked, theanchoring means being capable of penetrating a distance into the logunder the action of said tag-driving device; a tag retaining means onthe tag body for releasably retaining the tag on said tag-drivingdevice; said tag retaining means comprising magnetically permeablemetallic dust, thereby rendering the tag magnetically attractable bysaid magnetized tag driving device.
 2. A wood-marking tag as set forthin claim 1, wherein the tag anchoring means include anchoringprotrusions in the form of wall portions depending substantiallyperpendicularly from the tag plate near the outer rim of the latter, thewall portions including barbs at their outer edges.
 3. A wood-markingtag as set forth in claim 1, wherein the tag anchoring means includetubular projections extending prependicularly from the tag plate.
 4. Awood marking tag as set forth in claim 3, in which the tubularprojections are provided with barbs.
 5. A wood-marking tag as set forthin claim 1, wherein the anchoring protrusions are in the form ofcorrugated projections.
 6. A wood-marking tag as claimed in claim 1,wherein the plate of the tag body comprises two plate portions separatedby a substantially straight line of weakening along which one portioncan be broken away from the tag body, the identifying informationincluding identical markings on both plate portions, the tag anchoringmeans including anchoring protrusions on one of the two plate portions.7. A wood-marking tag as set forth in claim 6, in which said line ofweakness is a perforation line.
 8. A wood-marking tag as set forth inclaim 1, wherein at least a portion of the tag plate is thin enough topermit the piercing thereof by punch pliers, so that identifyinginformation can be applied to the tag plate in the form of punch markswhich are punched into the tag plate by means of the punch pliers.
 9. Awood-marking tag as claimed in claim 1, said material being reinforcedwith fibers having a hardness greater than that of said material andless than that of cutting steel.
 10. A wood-marking material as claimedin claim 1, said material comprising materials selected from the groupconsisting of 6-polyamide and ABS-acylicnitrile-butadien-styrene-copolymers.